Dawn

Night is passing,

sun comes by dawn,

Awaken now, beauty’s essence,

heart of love.

Hakim Omar Khyyám

As the New Year began, I reflected on the number of people I know who had lost someone special recently. Funerals and services have been held for daughters, mothers, wives, husbands, sons, fathers, sisters, and brothers. Some deaths were sudden and unexpected and some came after a long struggle with illness. Yet, all brought about grief and sorrow, which the survivors are each quietly traversing in their own way.

While the calendar gives a sharp demarcation between the past and the future – between December 31 and January 1 – these recent losses seemed to be a reminder of the more nuanced relationships of endings and beginnings. As humans, we need time and a sense of past and future to anchor us within our ever-changing lives.

Nature has her own way of offering us comfort and strength. We rely on the regularity of the patterns of the sun and the moon. Each morning the sun appears on the horizon, awakening the day. Like a sweet mother, she rouses everyone and sets them in motion toward their life activities. At first light, diurnal creatures begin stir, birds sing, roosters crow, dogs begin to bark, and eventually there is the arrival of the din of vehicles and mechanical beeps.

A primal part of us senses the magnificence of the daily arrival of the sun. The sun nourishes us not only through the growth of plants for our food, but through its light and vital energy. Different studies have shown that exposure to sunlight can reduce anxiety and calm the nerves. It stimulates inner systems, such as the metabolism of minerals and helps glands that take care of internal secretion. It is the natural source of Vitamin D connected to the production of the hormone endorphin, which gives us the feelings of satisfaction and happiness.

It is not surprising that ancient sages viewed dawn as symbolic of hope, the end of the shadows of pain and hardship, and the promise of renewal. The parade of colors across the sky surpasses even the greatest of human inventions and evokes a raw awareness of the powerful essence of life. We somehow recognize that within this one dawn there are the many dawns that have come before and will come afterward. Magnificent, splendid, glorious beauty glimmers in the morning light and lovingly charms the sun to shine anew.

This dawning of the day inspires the deepest part of us – our inner sun – to rise into and be held in the loving embrace of the divine. Through the simple language of nature, the poet Hakim Omar Khyyám offers praise to the sanctity of life held in a peaceful balance between life and death, night and day. As the New Year moves forward, I will endeavor to awaken with the dawn, and hope you will join me.

Practice

This practice can be done anytime, but preferably at dawn.

Prepare

Sit in a comfortable position, either on a chair, or the floor.

Stretch your hands and arms out to the sides. Reach through the center of your palms to your fingertips.

Cross your arms across the front of your body and give yourself a big hug.

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